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Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

A dish of chicken and leeks with lemon

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 28, 2012| 23 Comments »

This is  a handy lunch or supper dish–for two here; but for four with the simple addition of two extra pieces of chicken and another leek.

It’s adapted from a recipe in Nigel Slater’s impressive tome Tender–a tour de force of loving care. In it he tells the story of the creation of the vegetable patch in the back garden of his London home, and what pleasure it gives him.

He plants, he tends, he gathers and he cooks.

More than just a book of recipes, it’s an enjoyable account of what can be done with a limited space in the heart of a city.

for 2

2 tablespoon olive oil

2 leg and thigh pieces of chicken 

2/3 leeks–outer leaves removed, washed and sliced into 2″ stubs

Juice and zest of a lemon

1 wine glass white wine

500ml stock–I use organic vegetable stock cubes

2 tablespoon parsley–chopped

salt and pepper

ingredients for 2

for 2

  • Heat the oil in a pan and slip in the chicken pieces.
  • Gently color them on both sides on a low to medium heat–8 to 10 minutes in all.
  • Remove them from the pan.
  • Turn the heat to low.
  • Add the leek stubs to the pan and turn them over in the oil.
  • Cover the pan and cook the leeks until they begin to soften–about five minutes.
  • Season the chicken pieces and return them to the pan.
  • Add the wine, the lemon zest and juice, a tablespoon of parsley and the stock.
  • Bring the pan up to the boil, turn the heat down low and cover the pan.
  • Cook at a simmer until the juices run clear when you pierce a piece of the chicken–about 20 minutes.
  • Check the seasoning and sprinkle over the remaining parsley.

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Yogurt sauce—-a curry cooler with cumin

Posted in Food, Recipes, tagged , , , on January 21, 2012| 2 Comments »

Serves 2

2 small pots no/low-fat organic yogurt*

2 teaspoons of olive oil

half a clove of garlic – pulped in a mortar with a little salt

half a teaspoon of cumin powder

[*For a thicker sauce–which is how we like it–empty the yogurt into a piece of muslin drapped over a sieve and leave it to drain into a bowl for half an hour in the fridge.

Discard the liquid and carefully empty the yogurt into the bowl.

Or use the yogurt as it comes out of the pot–emptying it into a bowl.]

  • Pulp the garlic in a pinch of salt in a mortar.
  • Whisk in the cumin and the oil.
  • Fold this into the yogurt and whisk it well together.
  • Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve it.

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Chickpea curry with leek and fennel

Posted in Food, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 21, 2012| 8 Comments »

My copies of Rose Elliot’s vegetarian cookbooks, Not Just a Load of Lentils and The Bean Book, have been on my bookshelves for ages and are much thumbed!

First published in the 1970s, her recipes have withstood the test of time–and the ingredients often fit in with my adopted way of eating.

This is adapted from a recipe in The Bean Book. 

I made it in the morning and gently reheated it in the evening–giving the spices time to settle and meld. We had it for supper last night and it was worth the wait.

Meredith is wary of pulses because of their tendency to cause flatulence.

This time the positive outweighed the negative and she gave it the thumbs up–phew!

for 4

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

1 small onion–chopped

1 clove of garlic–peeled & chopped

1/2  teaspoon of powdered cumin

1/2 teaspoon of powdered coriander

1/2 teaspoon each of garam masala ( an earlier post), turmeric, ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon cayenne/chili powder

1 teaspoon fresh root ginger–peeled & chopped (optional)

1 large jar of cooked chickpeas–drained (the precise quantity is not critical!)

2 fennel bulbs–outer leaves removed, quartered and chopped

1 large leek–damaged outer parts removed, cut down to the base, washed and sliced

2 tablespoons of parsley or coriander–chopped

1 pint of vegetable stock (I use organic cubes diluted with boiling water.)

  • Heat the oil in a pan.
  • Gently fry the cumin seeds until they start to pop.
  • Add the onion and garlic and soften–about 3 minutes.

  • Add the spices and mix them in.

  • Add the chickpeas.
  • Add the leeks and fennel and mix.

  • Add the stock–start with half a pint and adjust as needed.
  • Bring the mixture up to boil, then cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes.

  • Fold in a tablespoon of parsley or coriander.
  • Sprinkle the second  tablespoon of parsley or coriander over the dish when you serve it hot with…
  • Brown basmati rice and yogurt sauce (see the next post).

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The simplest of celery soups

Posted in Food, Recipes on January 17, 2012| 8 Comments »

I’ve been wondering about celery soup lately.

I always enjoyed the taste and crunch of raw celery–( it felt like taking a bite of good health!).

It often featured on a plate of cheese at home in the fifties–cutting nicely the richness of a slice of cheddar and cleansing the palate.

Raw fennel serves the same purpose.

In cooking, celery is usually a supporting player–there to help add flavour and depth to soups and stews; though a dish of braised celery topped with a grating of parmesan makes for a tasty vegetarian main course–I might try it later in the week.

I’ve never made celery soup though–until this week.

How well would it work without the usual addition of potato to thicken it?
Other vegetables? I tried a leek and red onion–then settled for just a medium ordinary onion.
What to add to it for flavour?
I tried a couple of things–cider vinegar, yogurt with cumin–then settled for white pepper and nutmeg.
This is the simplest of celery soups!
for 4
1 tbsp olive oil

450g/1lb celery–sliced thinly

1 medium onion--chopped

1 clove of garlic–chopped

1 pint and a half stock–I use organic vegetable stock cubes

a quarter tsp of nutmeg

pinch of white pepper  and salt (to taste)

pinch of chopped parsley for each bowl

  • Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
  • Add the chopped celery, onion and garlic.
  • Turn them all thoroughly in the oil.
  • Sweat (don’t brown) these gently for about five minutes–to soften them.
  • Add the stock and continue cooking uncovered until the vegetables are tender–about 15 minutes.
  • Liquidize the soup (a handheld stick liquidiser saves a lot of washing up!).
  • Stir in the nutmeg and season with salt and white pepper.

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Infusiasm

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 14, 2012| 12 Comments »

It is simple to make.

The results are so tasty some people find it hard to believe there’s so little to it.

“It’s just raw  ginger and boiling water?”

Put a thumbnail piece of raw ginger root, peeled and chopped, in your favorite mug, top it up with boiling water and leave it for a couple of minutes to infuse–the magic word–and  sip it and see!

It works equally well with a sprig of thyme from the pot outside the kitchen door or a single mint leaf from the patch in the garden.

Sage and rosemary too work well though the taste is stronger and may not be to everyone’s liking.

If you have easy access to the herbs it’s fun to ring the changes–seasonally especially.

Our mint patch at the back shows signs of the new growth as early as March and I pounce on the first little bud that peaks out–impatient for a hint of Spring.

As the mint begins to fade in October I start looking for ginger on the stalls eager for a change of season and taste.

Enthusing about infusing is easy once you’ve tried it!

It’s good for you too!*–

(Meredith tells me our doctor Michel recommended she drink thyme tea for her sore throat.)

And in my view it’s so much nicer than a bag!

*more on the possible benefits from drinking– thyme tea

and ginger tea.

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Penne amatriciana–a fiery birthday treat

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 9, 2012| 10 Comments »

Amatriciana and Arrabiata.

Two tomato-based pastas beginning with “A“–and until now I never bothered to find out the difference.

As far as I can gather (my Italian friends might put me right on this) arrabiata is vegetarian and amatriciana is made with pork–but both are fired up with chili–as much or as little heat as you like.

Last night for a Birthday Pasta I made amatriciana with wholewheat penne.

(We always eat wholewheat pasta. Its lower glycemic index makes it healthier–which matters for people with diabetes–and Meredith and I prefer it now. That said, I limit myself to pasta once a week.)

Our friends, Keith and Helen, sent a birthday present of some bold and beautiful Tuscan red wine and it went down a treat with this robust sauce.

It takes its name  from the town of Amatrice,

in the east of the region of Lazio (Rome’s region) close to the border of Abruzzo and Marche to its north.

for 4

350 grms wholewheat penne

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion–chopped small

2 garlic cloves–chopped small

2 oz/50 grms pancetta or bacon–chopped small

2 small dry red chilis–seeds removed and chopped

2 teaspoons rosemary needles–chopped small

2 tblspoons red wine

1 14-oz can/tin of tomatoes–chopped and drained but retaining 3 tablespoons of its juice

salt and pepper

  • Heat the oil in a sauté pan large enough to contain the cooked pasta at the end.
  • Gently brown the onion, bacon and garlic.
  • Take  time to get a nice sticky, slightly caramelised result (but not burnt!).

  • Stir in the chili and rosemary and cook for a couple of minutes.
  • Add the wine and let it bubble a moment to burn off the alcohol.
  • Add the tomatoes and extra juice and mix everything together thoroughly.
  • Cook this for about 20 minutes to achieve the unctious sauce in the photo at the top.
  • Season with salt and pepper.
  • Bring to a boil a large saucepan of cold water with a teaspoon of salt.
  • Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook to your taste.
  • Drain the pasta thoroughly and add to the sauce; turn it well in and heat through.
  • Serve hot in warmed bowls with parmesan cheese to grate and red wine with a bit of attitude!

Portion control is the only challenge!

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Bean Soup with tomato, garlic, smoked bacon and wholewheat pasta

Posted in Food, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , on January 5, 2012| 14 Comments »

Another bean soup–can’t have too many in my opinion!

Interior insulation for the post prandial walk on a chilly winter day.

This satisfying soup is based on one in Elizabeth Romer’s lovely book, The Tuscan Year: Life and Food in an Italian Family.

Her account of the Cerroti family’s daily existence is a good read and full of authentic seasonal recipes.

Serves 4

4 tbsp olive oil

2 onions – chopped small

2 sticks of celery – chopped small

3 cloves of garlic – finely chopped

100 g/4 oz smoked bacon/pancetta – use unsmoked if you prefer – chopped small

4 tbsp parsley – chopped

1 x 450 g/16 oz can tomatoes – drained and chopped

350 g/12 oz tinned/jarred white beans – drained, rinsed and puréed–use the best quality beans you can find–it makes a difference

570 ml/1 pint/ vegetable stock – more if you like (I use organic veg. stock cubes)

150 g/6 oz “short” wholewheat pasta – (i.e. penne or farfalle, not spaghetti)

salt and pepper

freshly-grated parmesan

  • Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan.
  • Add the onions, celery, garlic, bacon and parsley, and turn them in the oil.
  • Cook them over a gentle heat until the vegetables are tender and the bacon is colouring up – this is the “taste engine” of the soup and needs some time – at least 20 minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes and mix them in and allow to meld for a good 10 minutes.
  • Add the beans and mix in.
  • Cook gently for 10 minutes.
  • These stages are important for a good depth of flavour and shouldn’t be rushed.
  • The soup should look beautiful now – with a warm glow.
  • Add half the stock and let it meld in.
  • Add the pasta and the rest of the stock and cook the pasta in the soup.
  • It may take a little longer than pasta normally does (I put a lid on at this point to help).
  • Be careful that this thick and unctuous soup does not stick and burn.
  • If you prefer it looser, add more stock and cook on a little to incorporate it.
  • Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste –remembering that the bacon and stock can be salty.
  • Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and swirls of olive oil.

(This nourishing soup is included in my cookbook–Delicious Dishes for Diabetics–a Mediterranean Way of Eating.)

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White fish fillet poached in mild soya sauce with sweet onion

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on January 3, 2012| 3 Comments »

This recipe is adapted from one I spotted in The New York Times a few weeks back.

It is quick and simple to do with an otherwise bland white fish (often a cheaper option).

I found whiting (merlan in France) at the market this morning.

(Tuesday market in Castres today was a sparse affair–everyone’s still in recovery mode I guess!)

The original recipe called for spring onions (scallions), but I couldn’t find them, so I sliced a sweet onion finely and spread it over the fillets bubbling away in the pan. Should work, but it won’t have quite the texture of spring onions.

This dish goes well on a bed of  brown basmati rice (to soak up the juices) and  perhaps a green salad.

A simple lunch for someone else in recovery mode–for not quite the same reason though!*

for 2/4

2 fillets of white fish, about one and a quarter  pounds of fish–cut in four

5 tablespoons mild soy sauce

5 tablespoons water

1 sweet onion–sliced very thin

1 red chili–fresh or dried (whole)

  • Bring the soy and water to a boil.
  • Slip in the fish fillets–flesh side down–followed by the onion and whole chili.
  • Cook for about 5 minutes–the time depends on the thickness and texture of the fillets; mine were ready in 3 minutes.
  • Add more hot water if you like–though the fish doesn’t need to be covered with liquid.
  • Lift them out carefully with a fish slice onto a warm plate.
  • Simmer the remaining liquid in the pan to reduce it by about half.
  • Place the fish on top of a serving of rice.
  • Spoon over some of the sauce and serve.
  • No need for extra seasoning–the soya sauce is salty enough.

In the event Meredith preferred a poached egg on toast! understandably not quite ready for something as savoury as this.

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A Beau start to the day–to the year!

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, tagged , , , , , , on January 1, 2012| 20 Comments »

kitten contemplating...

Sitting here with a little chap on the arm of the chair–who just moved onto my tum!

He’s eaten his first meal of the New Year and is purring loudly.

I’m telling him I have to get up and make porridge for the patient–but he pays no attention.

Noises off prick up his ears and he moves to the other arm of the chair.

“Could be that grumpy cat who keeps growling or could be something I’ve never seen before and needs investigating.”

Back on my tummy he decides my left hand needs a thoroughly licking–“this guy hasn’t bathed yet and it’s nearly ten!”.

The tickle of the rough tongue on the back of my hand makes me get up and light the gas under the porridge pot.

I set the tray and he checks out the cat bowls–just in case he’d missed something.

The first day of the New Year is on its way–up and running.

Scamper and hide.

Arch and jump.

Tap-tap-tap the ball and crouch. 

For Beau everyday is a new start and that could be my first resolution–start each day like Beau!

He is without question unlike any other cat…!

I arch and scamper upstairs with the tray…!

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Chicken broth for chills…

Posted in Food, other sides to this life, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , on December 30, 2011| 48 Comments »

“Horses for courses”–chicken for chills!

“Please–just some broth today!” was the request this morning from the sick bed.

Poor Meredith has been fighting the lurgy since Christmas Day.

Not a person to give in lightly to a tickle in the throat she has been up and back to bed all week.

We were bucked up last night by watching the original Shrek film, which I hadn’t seen.

It is high in the chuckle factor and almost as good a tonic as a bowl of chicken soup.

But this morning after a troublesome night it has to be the real thing–so here goes!

I put in a large pot:

1 chicken–washed

1 carrot

2 sticks of celery–roughly chopped

the outer parts of a fennel bulb–roughly chopped

1 onion–peeled and roughly chopped

1 small garlic bulb–with the top sliced off

3 bay leaves

a couple of parsley sprigs

a couple of slices of fresh ginger

a few peppercorns

3 pints of organic vegetable stock–from cubes and

the kitchen sink (only kidding!).

I bring these slowly up to the simmer–while feeding Beau a little cat milk and reassuring the patient that broth will be ready at the end of a brief snooze–cover it and leave it to bubble for an hour and a half.

Then I remove the cooked(out) vegetables with a slotted spoon and

add a cut up carrot, 

half a cut up fennel bulb and

some broccoli and

cook on until they soften and serve them with the broth.

Now, not meaning any disrespect to “grandma’s”  traditional  cure-all remedy–especially not as in a few days I shall reach the traditional “alloted span” and so must watch my tongue–I always find this broth/soup less than more-ish. So what am I doing wrong?

I notice that in several internet versions tinned chicken broth is used.

Tinned stuff? Really? This seems a bit of a cheat; though anything to lift the spirits I suppose…

As broth is staying on the menu for the next few days–I’m in the market for ideas!

(Our friend Charlotte suggests plenty of leeks and some nutmeg!)

Nevertheless the patient said she was happy with the outcome, but advised that the broth be refridgerated overnight for the fat to rise, be skimmed off and the soup to be reheated.

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